'Somehow, United are both imperious and impotent. If Middlesbrough were insipid on Saturday evening, then the fifth-most accomplished side in the land — according to the table — were still snuffed out with an impressive economy of effort. McClaren described it as "championship form", but at a time when United traditionally excel, their rivals are aping them step for step.
Of the last 27 available points, United have grasped 25, Chelsea 23 and Arsenal 21. Perhaps a pattern would be emerging there, except that over the festive period, all three sides mustered four victories. Chelsea went to Anfield and won, Arsenal safely negotiated three away fixtures, United nipped Teesside’s renaissance in the bud. They are pulling away from the others, but not each other.
United’s results have been remarkable, but the destruction they have wreaked is limited. "We’ve got to keep doing our jobs," Ferguson said. "That’s all we can do. I don’t think anybody is playing better than we are, but we’ve got to be patient." McClaren recognised a "different form and tempo" to games against the top-three clubs. "This season, they know they can’t afford to lose," he said.
Old hands pulled them through. With nearly £60 million worth of strikers unavailable, Giggs excelled in a forward role, while Roy Keane — "the heartbeat of the team," McClaren, the former United coach, said, "and the key to how well they do this year" — was magisterial behind. Having to contend with their own string of injuries, Middlesbrough lacked the drive to span a significant divide in quality.
From the moment that Cristiano Ronaldo, who was hurt later during a nasty altercation with Ray Parlour, struck the left post, this felt like a non-event. By the ninth minute, it was. Giggs fizzed the ball towards Mark Schwarzer, who got a touch to it, but Darren Fletcher could hardly avoid his first United goal. Ten minutes from time, Giggs emerged from a jumble in the Middlesbrough defence with a grin creasing his features.'